After installation, you can activate SOLIDWORKS licenses either by activating individual computers (license activation) or by installing and activating floating network licenses on a server (SolidNetWork Licensing).
Typically, installations on individual computers use license activation; however, you can install the software individually and then control the licenses with SolidNetWork License Manager. Conversely, although larger sites typically use floating network licenses, you can deploy the installations from an administrative image and then activate the serial numbers from the individual computers.
If you are running Windows 8, see Tips for Using SOLIDWORKS with Microsoft Windows 8 for tasks such as accessing Start or the Control Panel. These steps may vary depending on how Windows 8 is configured on your system. Consult Microsoft Windows documentation for additional instructions and options.